Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are diseases transmitted by means of sexual contact or similar behaviors to cause infections of urinary reproductive organs and accessory lymphatic system. The STDs further include infections of non-reproductive organs, such as infections transmitted by direct contact from skin to skin, skin to mucosa, and mucosa to mucosa. The STDs may be involved with lesions of major systematic organs to cause severe infections of mouth, pharyngeal, anus, rectum, and the like, and therefore are communicable diseases which may do severe damage to physical and mental health of people.
According to the estimations of WHO (World Health Organization), 50 million new cases of syphilis and 250 million new cases of gonorrhea occur throughout the world every year. In addition, AIDS has been spread widely to over 210 countries of five continents since it was first recognized in homosexual men in USA in 1981. Up to the year 2002, around 70 million people worldwide were infected with HIV, and 20 million are dead.
In 1991, China announced the Regulations of “Prevention and control measures for sexually transmitted diseases”, which prescribes that 8 types of venereal diseases including syphilis, gonorrhea, nongonococcal urethritis, condyloma acuminata, genital herpes, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum and AIDS, are under severe monitoring of the state.
In 2001, it was reported that there are 795,612 cases of the above 8 venereal diseases in China. Most of the infections occur in people aged between 20 and 39, and an increasing number of women were being infected in recent years. In the end of 2002, the accumulated cases of HIV occurred throughout the state is 40,560 since a AIDS sufferer was first recognized in China on 1985. The cases of infections with AIDS is 2,639 and the number of death cases is 1,047.
It is understood that people are vulnerable to STDs, despite of their ages and gender, and there is no congenital immunity or acquired immunity to STDs.
Further, it is common for women to be infected with cervicitis. According to a general investigation, the incidence rate of women aged at 16-76 is about 45.3%, and the infection with cervical carcinoma tends to be more common in younger women. In China, 500 thousand new cases are found every year, and the highest incidence rate occurs in women aged at 36. The incidence rate is increased by 15-20% in comparison with the figures in 70s-90s.
In addition, more and more women are working as a career woman in recent years. Many of them ignore health problems due to the heavy workload and the shrinkage of personal space. They would only seek for help from physicians when symptoms are present, or they may buy douching device from pharmacies to do cleaning by themselves.
In view of the foregoing situations, the use of condom is widely suggested for the prevention of STDs, while the use of self service cleaning device for woman is also helpful. To this end, many cleaning devices for woman, such as douching devices, are made available in the market. However, the available douching devices are small in capacity and could not reach to fornix around the cervix because of the limitations of their configurations, such that the prevention and treatment effects of these devices are limited.
In addition, PRC Utility Model ZL200620056052.1 discloses a portable vagina douching device, which comprises a plastic connector 1, a rubber connecting pipe 2 and a vagina douching head 3. In use, the douching head 3 is threaded onto one end of the connecting pipe 2 and the connector arranged at the other end of the connecting pipe 2 is connected to a water tap. The douching head is inserted at a specific depth into the vagina, and then the water tap is turned on for douching. After screwing out the connecting pipe 2 from the douching head 3, the medication may be injected via the opening of the douching head 3 for medical treatment when needed. Obviously, the douching device provides relatively poor douching effect, and it is also inconvenient to operate.
U.S. Patent Application 2002/0055723 A1 discloses a vagina cleaning system for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, which comprises a vagina opener, a vagina cleaning-solution sprayer, a multiple-functional vagina cleaning solution, and a health-promoting bacteria introducer. In terms of the configuration of the system, the cleaning solution is delivered by spraying, which provides a relatively poor douching effect, and particularly, it is hard to cleanse the vaginal rugae and the fornix around the cervix. Further, the system comprises so many parts whereby it is inconvenient to operate.
US Patent Application U.S. 2003/0055399 A1 discloses a system for personal hygiene, which comprises a connector attachable to an output interface of a shower head for directing a fluid flow from the shower head through the connector; a flexible fluid conduit having a proximal end coupled to the connector to receive a fluid flow from the shower head and a distal end; and an applicator attached to the distal end of the fluid conduit for directing the fluid flow to a targeted area. Such a personal hygiene system provides an unsatisfactory douching effect and is hard to deliver a cleaning solution.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,211,061 discloses a vaginal cleansing swab comprising an applicator shaft with first and second ends; a moisture absorbent end piece positioned over said first end of said applicator shaft and having a dome-shaped tip and more than one projecting disc-like portions, the diameters of said projecting disc-like portions increasing in size toward the dome-shaped tip; and a first projecting disc-like portion positioned closest to said moisture absorbent end piece and having a diameter larger than said dome shaped end piece; and separation areas located between said projecting disc-like portions. The swab of the patent features no douching action, and can only be adapted for vaginal scrubbing as usual.
It is known from the above descriptions of the prior art that there is no disclosure of a vaginal cleansing device featuring both douching and scrubbing effects. Further, a vaginal cleansing device featuring a counterflow preventer arranged inside the conduit thereof has not been disclosed by the prior art.
Whereas the foregoing problems have not been overcome by the prior art, the inventor of the present invention believes that people shall change the viewpoints to allay the worries that vaginal douching will degrade self defensive system of the vagina, and vaginal douching should be performed by medical professionals, and the use of unboiled water for vaginal douching will lead to vaginal infections.